Rankings are derived from scores assigned to each company based on confidential employee surveys. The city reference is the company’s home office and the employee count represents the company’s full-time Washington workforce. Quotes are actual comments by employees.

There’s been a lot to celebrate at the cloud-based sales automation software company this year. In April, Outreach raised a staggering $114 million in a Series E funding round, pushing it past the $1 billion valuation mark and placing it into elite unicorn status. Outreach has now raised $239 million since it was founded in 2013.

“Today is a momentous day not only for our founders, partners, investors, employees and family, but for our customers — the more than 3,300 businesses that trust us to help fuel their growth,” Medina wrote in a company blog post announcing the round. “We will expand in the coming months by doubling our machine learning team [and] increasing our international footprint.”

The accolades keep coming. Outreach was honored as Service Provider of the Year at the 2019 AA-ISP Leadership Summit and was recognized as an April 2019 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Sales Force Automation. And now the company is No. 1 on Seattle Business magazine’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in the large company category as voted by employees.

Almost 50 employees sang the company’s praises on nomination forms, noting the collaborative culture, diversity of thought and transparent communication. One noted that the company offers “amazing” paternity and maternity benefits, including paying for a night nurse for six weeks after birth. Another wrote, “Outreach is the real deal. This is my sixth company and I’ve never had great leadership, a great team, great culture and great vision all wrapped up into one.”

But perhaps the highest compliment came from an employee who often works remotely: “I like the option of working from home, but it shows how good the office itself is when I miss going into the office if I haven’t been in for a couple days.”

2. BOB'S HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONINGWoodinville | Hvac Installer And Service Company | Employees: 300“Been working here for 14 years and love the freedom and the challenges this company brings. Also good benefits and wonderful management.”

3. PARAMETRIXSeattle | Engineering Company | Employees: 306“What I like most about Parametrix is the employee stock-ownership plan, which motivates all employees to feel responsible for and share in our team success. I think it’s a major factor in employee retention and happiness.”

4. PAYSCALESeattle | Compensation-Software Company | Employees: 320“Love it here. Been here three years, and for a millennial, that’s a long time. I’ve had many opportunities to grow and advance my career, and I’ve been compensated well for my work.”

6. ZIPWHIPSeattle | Text-Messaging Software Company | Employees: 264“The company focuses on making employees happy, reacting to issues (even to relatively minor ones) to improve the working environment. Certainly, expectations are high, but so is recognition for your work.”

7. MUTUAL OF ENUMCLAW INSURANCE COMPANYEnumclaw | Casualty Insurance Company | Employees: 382“My family is in awe over the perks, benefits and corporate culture here. There is an understanding that for the company to be successful, the employees need to feel successful and appreciated.”

8. PUSHPAYRedmond | Software-As-A-Service Company | Employees: 255“Pushpay invests so much in us, with the amazing environment, nutrition, benefits, communication with our leadership and constant development opportunities — in and out of the office.”

9. CLARK NUBERBellevue | Accounting Firm | Employees: 164“The firm values its employees and shows it through our great work environment, listening to employee feedback and the great salary/benefits packages offered.”

10. SEQUOYAH ELECTRIC LLC.Redmond | Electrical Contractor | Employees: 405“Company values and the feeling that every employee is key to the success of the company, and Sequoyah’s tendency to take a personal interest in the welfare of its employees, foster a cohesive culture that feels like family.”

11. EXTRAHOPSeattle | Enterprise Cyber-Analytics Company | Employees: 231“We’re a thriving, high-growth security company in the Seattle area where team members are respected and challenged. The company is on a mission, and it’s exciting to play a part in it.”

12. SMARTSHEETBellevue | Work-Management Software Company | Employees: 750“I like the communication, learning opportunities and feeling of trust between employees and management. Benefits and salary are good, and the opportunity to feel ownership of projects is good.”

13. YESLERSeattle | B2b Marketing Agency | Employees: 166“I’m an old-school Seattleite who has worked at Nordstrom and Starbucks, and I can honestly say Yesler’s devotion to service and a respectful work environment are the equal to these legendary companies.”

14. PITCHBOOK DATA"There’s a lot of camaraderie and support available"Location: Seattle | Employees: 355At Pitchbook, all new hires spend their first two weeks at “PitchBook University,” a training program that teaches the fundamentals of capital markets. Everyone from Chief Operating Officer Rod Diefendorf to product development, sales and marketing personnel take the course.

“Most people don’t come to PitchBook with a background in private capital markets and it’s great way to understand the markets that we serve,” says founder and CEO John Gabbert, who launched the data analytics company a dozen years ago. “From a cultural perspective, it’s an opportunity for us to show how we work, and you have to ask questions. If you don’t, we know it’s probably not understood.”

That’s just the beginning of PitchBook’s cultural cornerstones. The company, which was acquired by investment research company Morningstar Inc. three years ago, offers employees a $1,000 professional development stipend and a college tuition match — up to $20,000 to help workers earn their MBAs.

The company offers a generous 7% 401(k) match and communicates corporate initiatives through monthly newsletters, quarterly all-staff meetings and team events, volunteer opportunities and brown bag lunches every Wednesday.

There’s a “Trust Tree” where employees can ask questions anonymously about strategy and culture. Wells Fargo bankers visit to explain how to save money and purchase a house. There’s also an inspirational speaker series.

Revenue is up 55% so far this year, Gabbert says.

Employees like what they see. One wrote on the company’s nomination form, “There’s significant runway to grow and accelerate within the company, which is a major motivating factor. Culture-wise, there’s a lot of camaraderie and support available.”

15. EVERGREEN HOME LOANSBellevue | Mortgage Lender | Employees: 468“Evergreen does a great job at accommodating for growth before departments are stressed. They are also great at balancing policy, procedure and training stuff with fun and team-building stuff.”

16. MG2Seattle | Architecture Firm | Employees: 222“I enjoy coming to work every day and being a part of the community that is here. There is an energy within these walls of growth, encouragement and excitement.”

17. STAY ALFREDSpokane | Vacation-Rental Company | Employees: 157“I greatly appreciate the bump in benefits that we received this year. Better health care/dental and paid time-off policies were all rolled out this past year. In my opinion this was a tremendous success for Stay Alfred.”

18. LEASE CRUTCHER LEWISSeattle | General Contractor | Employees: 251“In a booming market, Lewis as a company continues to think about the long-term business plan and well-being of their employees rather than doing whatever it takes to earn a quick dollar.”

19. LIMEADEBellevue | Software Company | Employees: 160“My company excels at living out its values, from the leadership down to individual team members. Doing so fosters a genuine sense of community, as well as overall unity in our goals across the company.”

20. VALLEY ELECTRICEverett | Electrical Contractor | Employees: 500“I personally feel that there are many opportunities available for my career to go in a number of different directions and the supportive staff to help develop the skill sets necessary to succeed on many levels.”

22. REAL SELFSeattle | Online Community And Marketplace | Employees: 257“I like my ergonomic desk, soundproof cubes for calls or focus work, the view of the Sound, the lactation room with kitchen-style facilities for new mothers, weekly yoga and weekly meditation.”

23. EXXEL PACIFIC INC.Bellingham | Commercial General Contractor | Employees: 220“Every time I hear other people talk about their benefits, I always feel like Exxel offers more. They have created a very well-thought-out employee-based benefit package.”

24. COLUMBIA HOSPITALITYSeattle | Hospitality-Management Company | Employees: 1,009“I most like Columbia Hospitality’s dedication to a clear values system that sets the tone for our leadership, team members and how we impact our guests. It is the backbone of all we do.”

25. THE SPUR GROUPRedmond | Business Consultancy | Employees: 186“Spur believes that to flourish, the company must invest in a positive workplace experience. Types of investments include social and wellness activities, training, and opportunities to reflect on individual performance and career direction.”

26. KINDERINGBellevue | provider Of Services To Children With Disabilities | Employees: 199“The flexibility of hours is great. The level of trust that management communicates to staff on a regular basis to make independent decisions makes me feel valued and appreciated.”

The nominating process for the 100 Best Companies to Work For starts in September and runs through December at seattlebusinessmag.com. Winners are recognized in the July issue of Seattle Business and at a gala celebration in late June at the Washington State Convention Center that attracts more than 1,300 attendees. For more information on the program, contact Ariana Taylor at ariana.taylor@tigeroak.com.